When a blind or visually
impaired child is only a few months old, most parents are still trying to cope
with the fears and uncertainties of having a disabled child. Conflicting information
and advice is especially overwhelming at this time. This is often compounded
by the unfortunate attitudes of many in the medical profession and, worse yet,
by those who work with the blind. We have come a long way but, even today, an
alarming number of professionals working with blind children and adults have
low expectations for their clients and such negative attitudes that they act
surprised when confronted with successful, self-sufficient visually impaired
men and women.

Despite these attitudes
we must remember that our attitudes are the ones which will affect our children
the most. Even in the face of deeply entrenched stereotypes and professional
misinformation and biases, we must hold fast to the idea that if we pay our
dues now, our children will reap priceless benefits in self-esteem, self-advocacy,
and the knowledge that we believe in their individual potential.

Positive attitudes and
matter-of-fact adaptation of the world for our blind and visually impaired children
starts at birth. As far as basic needs—holding, feeding, dressing (assuming
no medical complications)—there is nothing extra or special that must be done
for the blind infant. There are, however, very simple techniques that can be
employed to give your baby as much information as possible about his or her
environment.

When a baby is only a few
months old, her ability to hear you does not necessarily mean your location
is known, and she has no way of knowing that you are, perhaps, about to pick
him up or fix her blanket. Before you pick up the child or move something nearby,
state what you are going to do, or at the very least say the child’s name before
touching her. There is no need to handle a blind child more carefully than you
would a sighted child; she is not more fragile and is not predisposed to being
extra anxious or fussy. Keep in mind that for the first few weeks of life, sighted
babies are only able to see people and objects very close to their faces anyway.

When you take your child
from room to room, outside to the car, or into the store, to the extent that
you are able to do so under the circumstances (time, who’s with you, etc.),
you should state simply where you are going and what you are doing. Hearing
everyday speech is good for all babies’ language development, but the blind
child will be able to use your verbal cues to begin distinguishing, with her
other senses, a change in location. For example, my 20-month-old daughter was
able, at about one year, to go to the kitchen or the bathroom when told to do
so. I spent a lot of time telling her: “We’re going to go into the kitchen so
Mommy can clean up. We’re going out of your room,” (putting her hands on the
door) “and we’re going straight. Mommy and Daddy’s bedroom, where we sleep in
the bed at night, is on the right. The bathroom, where you have your bath, is
on the left. After the bedroom are the steps going downstairs to outside. Now
here’s the living room, with the television and the stereo. We turn left, and
here’s the kitchen.”

I tried to use the same
descriptions as often as possible. When I had the time, I showed her the furniture
in the room, spoke its name and its purpose. Even when very young, Samantha
was very attentive when I spoke, and though she obviously didn’t understand
most of what I was saying in the beginning, repetition eventually led to absorption
and understanding.

An older infant and toddler
will often attempt to do what Mommy and Daddy are doing: fold laundry, clean
the table, wash the dishes. When it is safe to do so, I show Samantha what I
am doing and explain: “Mommy is giving the dirty dishes a bath. They have food
on them. Then we’ll dry them with a towel, just like you after your bath.”

Don’t take anything for
granted. If your child is curious, show whatever it is safe to show him. Then,
when your attention is desired at an inopportune moment, “One minute, sweetheart;
Mommy’s cleaning the table” will actually have a concrete meaning; it will not
merely be a jumble of words that he has heard but doesn’t understand because
he cannot see what it is you are doing. Eventually, he will put together your
location, the sound of the water on the rag, the sound of the rag on the table,
and will know on his own what you are doing. But until you give meaning to the
sounds and smells and textures in his world, your blind baby cannot learn the
function of the objects in his environment. Do not feel foolish describing every
little thing and activity to your baby. It can only help her.

I personally don’t like
playpens, especially for totally blind infants. Put your child on the floor
with some toys; place a noisy toy out of his reach to entice him to move to
find it. This way he can learn that his environment is far more than what he
is readily aware of. When he begins to creep or crawl, show him the boundaries
between rooms, the extent of rooms, how he can move around tables and chairs,
but not around walls. Expose your child to everything: show him the steps, the
trees in your yard, the grass. Take him to the beach and show him the sand,
how the water moves, sea shells. Show him the inside and outside of the car
his car seat is in. Show, show, and show some more—hands on whenever possible—with
constant explanations using simple statements. Teach care providers to do the
same. Place toys on accessible shelves and show him where they are in relation
to other objects in the room. As he begins to show understanding of words and
begins to use words to express needs and desires, you will see that these efforts
have paid off. By the time he is walking, your child will know “right” and “left”
and will have no trouble moving about familiar surroundings with ease.

Blind
herself, Christine Faltz is the mother of two blind children, a girl, Samantha,
and a boy, Braden.